


bouquet of red roses

by Bitway



Series: AUgust 2020 Writing Challenge [27]
Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: AL4 aka Tetsu owns a flowershop, AU-gust 2020, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Love Confessions, M/M, hello i like to write emi supporting her bro in his love life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26153356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bitway/pseuds/Bitway
Summary: Ren loves to see Aichi come into the shop. It's the highlight of his day. Today he learns the reason behind his visits.AUgust Day 27 - Flower Shop AU
Relationships: Sendou Aichi/Suzugamori Ren
Series: AUgust 2020 Writing Challenge [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860877
Kudos: 6
Collections: AUgust 2020





	bouquet of red roses

As Ren rests his head on his arms, he lets out a sigh. The shop was devoid of anyone else aside from him and the flowers that filled it. Tetsu was in the back dealing with orders and inventory while Asaka had gone out to make a delivery. Which meant Ren had to man the store. Which was fine…if only there were customers to entertain him.

"If only we had a cat like Misa-Q's shop," he whines. At least then he wouldn't be alone and he could play with someone. He's tempted to stand outside and hope for one to find its way here, just so he could lure it in.

The bells fastened to the door chimes and Ren lets out a, "Welcome!" as he forces himself to sit up. While he'd prefer to remain in a more relaxed state, he had to look semi-decent in front of a customer.

His gaze wanders over to the door that's shielded by a display of various colorful flowers. He spots a hint of blue in between flowers. And when the customer finally turns, there's a smile plastered on Ren's face.

"Aichi!" He chirps. If it weren't for the counter between them, Ren would have bolted to the other boy's side. The most he does is excitedly get off the stool he'd been sitting on and lean against the counter.

"Hey, Ren," Aichi says as he waves. He wears that cute smile that Ren adores. His cheeks have a light color of pink to them. The boy gulps as he approaches Ren.

"Come for the usual?"

Aichi nervously laughs and scratches behind his head. "You know me already."

"One sec." Ren hums and turns around. Behind him is a selection of flowers that are perched upon shelves. He sets his gaze on the one that held yellow, white, and red roses. Carefully, he looks them over, focusing on the red ones. Aichi always asked for a red rose, and he would get nothing but the best. With the freshest one picked, he returns to the counter.

"Do you like this one?" Ren asks as he holds it out to him, the petals just inches away from the boy's nose. "It's got a really bright red color."

Aichi leans in to inhale the scent. Satisfied, he nods. "It's almost as bright as your hair."

"Is it? Hmm…" Ren holds the rose up to his hair. Red strands nearly brush against the red petals. Maybe it was off by a tone or two, but he could definitely see the resemblance. "You're right, Aichi!"

The boy chuckles as Ren places it down on the counter. He pulls some wrapping paper out from underneath to wrap the rose in. He's fully aware that Tetsu said to only use this for bouquets and only if the customer asks for one, but Aichi was a special case. Ren makes sure that his rose is secured in a light purple wrapping and finished with a ribbon. His bows were never as great as Asaka's but they did the job of keeping the wrapping in place.

"So, are you ever going to tell me why you keep buying a rose almost every day?"

Aichi's back straightens up, his hands fly together, and Ren swears he can catch a bead of sweat falling down his cheek. He scratches at it and looks down to the rose.

"I, um, well…" He pauses and bites at his lip. "I've been trying to give it to the person I like…" It's said in a whisper and Ren nearly misses it.

"Oh? You're trying to confess to someone? Who is the lucky person?"

Ren likes to imagine it's him. He dares to joke about why wouldn't it be him? They were close, and he showered him in affection more than anyone else. But he never went too far with his actions, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable. Aichi was the shy and timid type. Physical affection was something he wasn't used to, Ren had learned. Though, Aichi never seemed to hate it whenever he flung himself onto him.

He tries to think of other people in Aichi's life. His friends. One in particular stuck out, and he wasn't sure if he should be happy or not if that one was his crush.

"I can't tell you…" Aichi looks terribly guilty about it. He bows his head in apology, hands fly to the hem of his shirt as he grips onto it for support. Ren sighs and reaches over to pat his head.

"If you can't tell me, you should at least tell whoever it is. Oh!" Ren pulls back and claps his hands together. "How about this?" He grabs the rose and hands it to Aichi, nearly forcing it into his hands. "This one is on the house."

"B-But I can't-"

"Under the condition that you confess. And don't try to use our sales dropping as an excuse. One rose isn't going to hurt the shop."

Aichi wants to fight back, he can see it in his eyes. He couldn't just accept this gift, but Ren thinks that this would help him out. It would give him a little push to pulling off the sweetest confession he could ever imagine and he knows it will be one. To have him beat around the bush for- how long was it now? He didn't keep track of how many times Aichi came by for one.

"I…I will!"

His blue eyes are set with determination. Ren smiles the moment he sees it. Aichi would definitely keep to his word, even if his whole face was turning red.

"I…Thank you, Ren!" Aichi does a quick bow to him and mutters some more thanks, Ren isn't quite sure about the last bit. He then excuses himself, grasping the rose in his hand.

"Good luck, Aichi," he says after hearing the bells chime, signaling he was gone.

Ren lets out a breath and returns to his original position. This time he lets his head rest on the counter, pressing his cheek on it and letting his hair spread over it.

_'I shouldn't have done that.'_

He shuts his eyes and takes in a breath. He wanted Aichi to himself. To think he would be given away to another…it was a vision he did not want to imagine.

~…~

Aichi places the rose down on his table. It lies against a vase that holds multiple roses, all red, and all from the same shop. He lets out a whine before putting his head into his hands.

"I should have told him today…"

But instead he ran home, and another rose was added to his collection to number his failed attempts at trying to confess to Ren. He peeks through his hands, blue eyes gazing down at the latest one he 'bought'. Ren's words repeat in his mind. He swears he'll go through with it. He had to.

"You bought another one?" His sister asks as she stands at his door.

"Emi!" He shouts, startled.

"I thought you were going to tell him?" She sighs. "You have way too many roses…"

"I am going to tell him. I just…couldn't today."

Emi crosses her arms and looks at the vase. She falls silent for a moment.

"I think I have some paper you can use to wrap them up. Mom has some ribbon lying around, so you can use that too."

"Thanks, Emi…"

"Don't thank me until you get rid of those flowers."

~…~

Ren keeps his head on his arms, eyes shut and feigning sleep. It was another moment when the shop was empty and he had nothing to do. He considers rearranging some flowers, maybe the ones kept on the counter. If only he had the energy to lift himself up and mess with them.

For now, he keeps his head down, his thoughts trailing off to Aichi. He wonders if he's gone through with the confession yet. It had only been a day, but he could have done it last night or this morning…or even this very second. Ren huffs and pouts when he considers it.

When the bells chime, he doesn't register it. He misses saying his greeting to the customer that had walked in. His eyes are still kept shut as he thinks of a way to get to Aichi's heart. Maybe he just needed to be the one to confess? That should be easy enough.

"Ren? Ren? Are you okay?"

That voice. Aichi's voice. Red eyes shoot open and he lifts his head. The instant he sees him, a smile adorns his face.

"I'm fine, Aichi," he says in a singsong tone. He stops to stare at what was in his hand.

A bouquet of red roses all wrapped in a clear paper. A red ribbon was tied at the bottom to hold it together. The closer he looks at the flowers, the more he thinks of how familiar they are. One sticks out in particular. One that was (almost) the same shade as his hair.

"What are those for? If those are from the shop, you know we don't do returns. Even I can't make that exception for you."

"N-No! That's not why I brought them!" Aichi stammers. His hold on the flowers tightens. He gulps and holds them out to Ren, hiding his blushing face behind them. "They're…for you…"

Ren blinks. Slowly, he reaches out for them. His hand brushing against Aichi's. He lets it linger there for a moment before pulling the bouquet towards him and against his chest. He looks at them before looking up to Aichi. He was looking directly at him, face completely flushed.

"I…really like you, Ren. I wanted to buy one and give it to you, but I could never say it…"

Ren keeps the flowers against him, his eyes solely focused on those pretty hues of blue. They seemed to shine so brightly in this moment.

Without thinking, he sets the bouquet down on the counter. He leaves his position, running around it to meet with Aichi. He wraps his arms around him, pressing his face against his chest.

"And here I thought someone else stole your heart. I can't believe I was competing with myself," he laughs.

He feels Aichi's arms wrap around him. The boy nuzzles against his chest and he hears a sigh of relief and something along the lines of 'I'm so glad'. It's muffled, but he doesn't care.

Ren was right about Aichi pulling off a sweet confession. He couldn't have imagined one greater than this.


End file.
